Country Life Magazine (April 24, 2024): The latest issue features…

The summer Season

• Ben Lerwill looks forward to high-speed sporting action
• Tom Chamberlin and Sophia Money-Coutts reveal how to keep your cool when the heat is on
• Hetty Lintell presents glorious ensembles for hot days

• Paul Henderson asks top chefs for their picnic picks
• Julie Harding meets the wicker weavers
• Harry Eyres and the Country Life tasting team find English fizz in sparkling form

Every picture tells a story

As the National Gallery counts down to its 200th anniversary, Carla Passino delves into the fascinating stories behind 10 paintings in the collection

John Booth’s favourite painting

The chairman of the National Gallery board of trustees picks an exquisite, skilful work that resonates with deeper meaning

The private made public

In the second of two articles, John Goodall investigates the 20th-century evolution of Stansted Park in West Sussex

Luxury

Hetty Lintell reveals the secret to staying fresh faced and fashion artist David Downton shares a few of his favourite things

The legacy

Octavia Pollock hails the talented Stevenson clan, who saved countless lives at sea thanks to their prolific lighthouse building

Interiors

Giles Kime on how decorative frames can give a room an extra edge and Arabella Youens on the creation of a family kitchen

Processions, proclamations and punishment

Time has not been kind to way-side crosses, once beacons of the British landscape. Lucien de Guise follows a trail of destruction

Supporting acts

Amelia Thorpe selects the best structures for growing climbers

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson gets creative with fresh, cooling spearmint

Dropping down to Derwentwater

Lakeland fells form a dramatic backdrop to the captivating Arts-and-Crafts garden at High Moss in Cumbria, finds Non Morris

Satan on six legs

Crushing one is said to absolve you of all your sins, but the Devil’s coach horse beetle is also the gardener’s friend, says Ian Morton

Flying between extremes

A booming bittern and a colossal crane make it a memorable return to the Norfolk Broads for John Lewis-Stempel

Blessed among plants

It may be named after the Virgin Mary, but, warns Ian Morton, there is a hint of the profane about lady’s mantle

Native herbs

John Wright reveals how the pretty, but unpalatable ground ivy found its true calling as an ingredient in the brewing of ale